570 to 710 - Seven "Do Nots" of GMAT

#1: Donot spend too much time on your strengths - The ROI begins to diminish after a point. If you have reached higher rungs of Q50 (4 or fewer mistakes), then there is no point hammering challenge problems and sectional tests. There is no guarantee that you would score Q51. Cases in point are several people who scored Q51 the first time around followed by Q50 in the second attempt. Moreover even if you score Q51 your overall score may not change. Google Q50 V35, Q51 V35. Both invariably lead to a score of 710.Just give one sectional tests in Quant every week and you would be fine. Similar principle would apply for verbal nerds/studs . That is those who scored V42 and above.

#2: Donot Over-Analyze Tests/Questions: Some very reputable tutors suggest spending 10-20 mins analyzing a single questions. The problem is most people donot have 8 hours every day for GMAT. Tutors have that luxury we donot. Spend a max of 10 mins analyzing each question. This is especially true for CR/RC/PS/DS problems where there are no subtle patterns to be memorized. If you are spending more than 10 mins on a problem it shows that you are lacking in the content/fundamentals and you need to revise the strategy guides or refer to fundamental books(high school stuff). Remember the probability of facing a similar question on GMAT is very low. GMAT tests your mental agility which comes only through practice. Time is a commodity which you cannot buy or buy back.
Note: SC is an exception to this rule as SC problems have several patterns which are repeated. Hence spending 10+ mins on a SC problem you missed is acceptable. Donot forget to note the Take-aways in SC.

#3: Not making notes while reading Strategy Guides - Most people are habitually lazy (myself included) and they think "Oh I get it, I know it, I would be able to recall later". Do not do this to yourself(unless you have a super sharp memory). People forget 84% of what they read within one day. Keep a notebook handy and make small notes while reading Strategy guides. This would prove to be a time saver while revising. If you fail to do this you will have to do double work later.

#4: Reading several strategy guides and confusing yourself - As a very well know researcher Mark Joshi once said "I would prefer you read one book 9 times than reading 9 different books on the same subject". Pick one book in every topic and read it , re-read it, ear mark it, till you understand. In the area of weakness you will probably need to read a strategy guide several times. This does not mean you can not refer to non GMAT books on the subject. You probably should in your area of weakness. However stick to 1 GMAT related strategy guide per topic. This sounds confusing . Right. Here is how to do it. For example in Manhattan SC you encounter "prepositional phrase", you refer to your high school grammar guide and note its full definition on Page 77. So you underline the word "prepositional phrase" using pencil and add a note "Book Name" Pg77. This would prove more useful when you are in the initial phase. Later on you when you have grasped/internalized the concept you can rub the reference.

#5: Reading Powerscore CR completely and then solving OG questions: Powerscore CR runs over 300 pages. Its very diifficult to retain key concepts together and apply them successfully after reading the whole book. For someone starting out in CR a better strategy would be read each chapter and solve OG problems for that chapter. For example after you have read Strengthen chapter, you can solve all the Strengthen questions from OG12/13. This would reinforce the correct problem solving process. Please see the link below for topic wise classification of questions.

https://www.powerscore.com/crbible/content_index.cfm

After you repeat this process a couple of times on OG12/13. You can do mixed CR sets from OG V2.

#5: Reading one chapter Manhattan SC and then solving corresponding OG questions : The problem with solving SC questions chapter wise is that SC problems rarely test one error at a time and hence your accuracy will be much lower than if you read the whole book and then solve the questions. I made the mistake early in my preparation and my accuracy was 40% in OG12. My confidence was thrashed even further when I was reading OG solutions which made little sense to me at that point. I would suggest you read the first 8 chapters of Manhattan SC several times and when you are confident solve OG12. Your accuracy would be higher, OG solution would make sense and your time will be utilized properly.

#6: Giving tests every week in early/mid stages of your preparation: GMAT is like a boxing match. You need to be able to handle several moves before you enter the ring. This takes time. Donot give tests on every weekend in early/mid phases of the your preparation. In the last month leading to your GMAT appointment giving tests every Sunday makes sense.

#7: Spending money on several prep courses: You cannot buy a GMAT score. In spite of tall claims and guarantees made by prep companies you will have to do (80-90)% of the work. Most prep companies offer you a bunch of problems with answers.Everything is present in OG/MGMAT Guides. All you need is diligence. You can use these courses as a supplement but not as a substitute for rigorous self study. If you are not motivated no course will help you. In areas of weakness get help from a local tutor but only after you have tried your best. This is because you donot want to spend money learning basics when you can learn the same from Strategy Guides.

Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, a day or even a year. If I quit however, it will last forever.